President-elect Lai appoints ex-DPP chair Cho Jung-tai as premier

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) has been appointed Taiwan's new premier, President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced Wednesday.

Cho, a central figure in Lai's successful presidential campaign, will take up the post to be left vacant by incumbent Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) after Lai and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) assume office on May 20.

Cho, 65, served as the Cabinet's secretary-general from September 2005 to January 2006 and again from September 2017 to December 2018, a time when Lai was premier under the government of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

He stepped down from the post in late December 2018 to run for the DPP chair, a role left vacant following Tsai's departure as a result of the party's dismal defeat in the local government elections in November 2018.

Cho then served as DPP chairman from January 2019 until Tsai began her second tenure as president and returned to helm the party in May 2020.

He largely stayed out of frontline politics following Tsai's return, until he was invited to join Lai's campaign in 2023.

Graduating from the National Chung Hsing University with a bachelor's degree in law, Cho entered politics in 1987 by working as an assistant for then-Taipei City Councilor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who is currently Taiwan's representative to Japan.

Cho was elected to the Legislature in 1999 and remained a legislator until he was named deputy secretary-general to former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2004.